When the Bough Breaks
by jennamarie
Summary: When the Kurosaki's are violently murdered, Tsuzuki and Hisoka are sent to investigate the supposed haunting of Hisoka's family home. What measures would you take to protect something, or someone important to you?
1. Chapter 1

I'm sorry, I couldn't help it.

Warnings: Gross stuff, Muraki, long waits between chapters, the usual...

As always I own nothing.

**When The Bough Breaks**

**Chapter 1**

For a long moment there was silence…

The memory of screams still echoed in the darkened room, and dull green eyes stared unblinkingly towards a blood spattered wall. Muffled at first, growing steadily louder and clearer; a dark, menacing laughter began to reverberate through the walls of the building.

"_I'm free!"_ A raspy and grating voice rang with exultation. _"I'm…"_ The laughter died suddenly, to be replaced by a roar of fury. _"Why am I still bound?!"_

**~XXX~**

"Tatsumi's coming."

Tsuzuki whirled around in his chair, nearly sending himself flying in the process, to look at his partner. Hisoka hadn't so much as glanced away from his computer screen, but Tsuzuki was still warmed to know that his partner was still watching out for him, even while engrossed in his work.

Tsuzuki jumped down from his chair and sent it spinning back towards his desk. He threw himself into it and grabbed a pen just as the office door opened.

Trying to look as if he'd just been interrupted in diligently writing his reports, he looked up. "Hi Tatsumi!"

Tatsumi Seiichiro, formidable secretary of Enma-cho, looked Tsuzuki up and down for a long moment. "I think you'll find that you'll have better results if you turn your pen around Tsuzuki-san."

Tsuzuki looked back down and realized he was holding the back of his pen against the paper. "Oops!" Tsuzuki held the pen up in front of his face and glared at it. "Well, there goes a whole mornings work! And I was almost done too!" He peeked up to see Tatsumi's lips twitch, and there was a snort from Hisoka's general direction.

"No Tsuzuki, you can not go to lunch early, even if you do turn the clock ahead," Tatsumi told him, sounding mildly exasperated.

"I wouldn't! How could you possibly think I… I mean, I… really! How did you know?"

Hisoka finally looked up from his computer and looked hard at Tatsumi. "Is there something wrong, Tatsumi-san?"

The question caught Tsuzuki off guard, he knew that in spite of his empathic talent Hisoka normally had a difficult time reading any emotion from the taciturn secretary, so if Tatsumi was broadcasting enough emotion for Hisoka to pick up on it, then he must be truly upset. He turned his questioning gaze on Tatsumi, who sighed deeply and gestured towards him in a way that clearly said 'later'.

"I'm afraid I came in to pass on a missive we just received from the Hall of Candles." Tatsumi reached into his suit and withdrew a folded slip of heavy paper. There was a red spot on the ivory page where it had been sealed with wax. Tatsumi hesitated for a brief moment before handing the message to Hisoka.

Hisoka took it and unfolded it. Tsuzuki noticed the shadows around Tatsumi twitching minutely with agitation, he really was upset!

Hisoka's reaction was similar; although there was no outward change in his demeanour, Tsuzuki noticed when Hisoka's hands started to tremble, the note wavering slightly in his grip. He looked up at Tatsumi. "Is that all?"

Tatsumi raised a brow in question, but nodded once in reply. "Are you alright Kurosaki-kun?"

"I'm fine, I'm…" Hisoka trailed off and looked around as if he had lost his train of thought. "I'm…" He paused, and then looked back up at Tatsumi. "I'm going home."

"Home?" Tatsumi asked.

"Home; my place," Hisoka confirmed.

"Very well, you have the day, tomorrow too if you need it. We'll see you later."

"Hisoka?" Tsuzuki questioned softly.

"It's alright Tsuzuki, I'll see you tomorrow," Hisoka reassured him, rising to his feet. He grabbed his jacket off the back of his chair and walked quickly out of the door.

Tsuzuki stared after him worriedly. "Tatsumi? What just happened?"

Tatsumi sighed a second time and retrieved the missive from Hisoka's desk. "The Count has sent word that both his parents flames were extinguished yesterday evening."

"Oh…" Tsuzuki breathed softly, and unconsciously got to his feet, intent on following his partner.

Tatsumi held up a hand to halt him. "Stop."

Tsuzuki stopped and looked pleadingly at his superior. "But Tatsumi, I just want to make sure he's alright."

"And I would expect nothing less of you," Tatsumi told him with a gentle smile. "But give him today to assimilate, let him be. Tomorrow will be soon enough to pester him."

Tsuzuki shifted as if he was going to continue despite Tatsumi's words, then he met Tatsumi's solemn and direct gaze and nodded. "Okay."

Tatsumi game him another, warmer smile as he left the room, and Tsuzuki returned to his desk. Preoccupied, he began to absently fill in his paperwork, all thoughts of messing with the office clock completely forgotten.

**~XXX~**

Tsuzuki sighed.

He was sitting at his kitchen table, head on his hand, staring at his phone. He had been home from work for just over an hour, and in that time he had stared at his phone, trying to convince himself that just calling Hisoka wouldn't be intrusive or invasive or… But every time he reached for the receiver, he heard Tatsumi's voiced telling him tomorrow would be soon enough.

While he was lost in these musings, a knock sounded at the door. "Come in!" he yelled at the knocker, barely glancing away from the phone.

So he was more than a little startled when Hisoka stalked by him and into his living room with a pillow tucked under one arm and a backpack thrown across his other shoulder.

He watched as Hisoka threw the pillow on his couch, the backpack on the floor beside it, and took a seat, arms crossed over his chest, staring moodily at the blank television screen.

Tsuzuki got slowly to his feet and followed after his partner. "Hisoka?" he questioned tentatively.

"I don't want to talk about it," Hisoka told him with just the briefest glance up from the TV screen. "I just don't… don't…"

"Want to be alone right now?" Tsuzuki supplied helpfully.

"Yeah, that." Hisoka shot another quick glance at Tsuzuki, this one full of gratitude.

Tsuzuki took a seat on the other side of the couch and sat quietly fidgeting for several minutes before turning back to Hisoka. "Are you hungry? I could…"

"Go order a pizza," Hisoka told him, "it's on me."

"Really?" Tsuzuki gushed, his natural exuberance making an appearance.

"Really, but no peppers." Hisoka's lips twitched in spite of himself as he watched Tsuzuki bounce off towards the phone.

tbc...


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2**

Tatsumi slapped the file folder down on his desk and glared at it. In spite of his strong work ethic and eye on the bottom line philosophy, he wished that Hisoka had taken the extra day he had offered. Then he would have had an excuse to hand this case to a different team.

Not that Kamakura was part of Tsuzuki and Hisoka's Cho, but the personal nature of the case demanded that it be brought to Hisoka first. Between the youth's stubborn pride and sense of responsibility, Tatsumi doubted that he would allow the case to he given to someone else.

He glared at the file some more, rather hoping it would burst into flames, dissolve, get sucked into a worm hole, or something of that nature.

"Knock, knock!"

Tatsumi looked up to see Watari leaning in the doorway of his office, an amused smirk turning up the corners of his mouth.

"I don't know what that file did to you, but it must have been truly evil for you to look at it like that!"

Tatsumi pushed the file across his desk towards Watari in invitation. "Apparently there is evidence of a severe haunting at the Kurosaki family estate, possible demonic involvement. We've been asked to check it out."

"Huh." Watari picked up the file and began paging through it. "You think Bon will take it?"

Tatsumi felt himself relax just a little, Watari understood the complexities of the situation without him needing to explain all the little details. "Of course I expect Kurosaki-kun will take it, as much as I might wish otherwise."

Watari looked at Tatsumi and cocked his head, nearly upsetting 003, who had been hiding beneath the spill of hair over his shoulder. "You're worried about him?"

Tatsumi scowled. "I worry about all my colleagues."

"That's so sweet!" Watari cooed, "and it makes us feel so special!" He turned his attention back to the folder. He was quiet for several minutes, except for the flutter of paper as pages were turned. As he read, Watari's cheerful expression faded, and by the time he set the file down and pushed back to Tatsumi, he was frowning, his amber eyes pensive. "How much was Bon told about his parents' deaths?"

Tatsumi sighed. "I believe that the Count's message said only that their flames had gone out."

"You aren't going to let him read that, are you?" Watari gestured towards the folder, looking mildly disgusted. "Normally I don't have a problem with descriptive gore, but those were his parents!"

"I am aware of that." Tatsumi leaned back in his chair, adjusting his glasses. "What would you suggest?"

"How about you sit on that for a couple of hours, I'll whip up something in my lab to test on Bon, and once he's sent home you can go ahead and assign that wherever the heck you want!" Watari was surprised when Tatsumi quietly considered the idea for several long moments before shaking his head.

"No, it wouldn't work, nor would it be ethical."

"Ethical?" Watari exclaimed incredulously, and pulling the file back towards him, flipped it open. "Victim one; Kurosaki Nagare, eviscerated, contents of stomach cavity removed and found spread over a four foot distance from the body. Victim two; Kurosaki Rui, dismembered, limbs found at various points of a locked room, uterus removed, fetal matter found on the walls and floor, placenta discovered in a cherry tree approximately 150 yards from the main house. How would allowing bon to read this be ethical? There are pictures Tatsumi!"

"I am aware of that," Tatsumi said coolly, "but the fact of the matter is that by rights, the case needs to be presented to Kurosaki-kun first, before being handed over to another division." He hesitated, suddenly looking a little unsure, "but perhaps we should remove the photos before letting him see the file. We can tell him we have them and he can decide if he wants to see."

**~XXX~**

"So, what's the case?" Tsuzuki asked apprehensively. He hadn't been apprehensive until he and Hisoka had come into the briefing room and he'd seen the ferocious frown on Watari's face. Whatever was going on, Watari was Not Happy about it, and that made Tsuzuki apprehensive.

Tatsumi placed a folder on the table, Hisoka reached out for it, but Tatsumi pulled it back slightly. "We received this case this morning. It is not in your area, so you are not obligated to accept it."

Hisoka quirked a brow in question, but Tsuzuki frowned, he had a better idea of what was going on than his younger partner. If they were being offered a case outside of their area, either the shinigami who covered that area were already out on assignment, or the case involved one of them personally; and Tsuzuki couldn't think of anyone who was currently out of the office.

"So why are we here?" Hisoka asked.

"The case concerns your family's estate," Tatsumi informed him, finally lifting his hand from the folder.

"My parents…?" Hisoka inquired in a carefully neutral voice.

"No," Tatsumi glanced quickly over at Watari, who frowned at him, and back to Hisoka. "Your parents souls passed through judgement without any problems, but there are now reports of unusual disturbances that resemble a severe haunting at the Kurosaki estate."

Hisoka pulled the file towards him, but Tatsumi spoke again before he could open it.

"The details of your parents deaths are included in the file, as well as three others. There are also pictures of the scenes that we have removed for the time being, they were quite disturbing."

Hisoka hesitated and Tsuzuki took advantage of the moment to get to his feet. "Hisoka? Could I talk to you alone for a minute?"

Hisoka looked up at him surprised, but nodded and followed him out into the hallway.

Tsuzuki closed the door and looked around to assure that the hall was empty. "'Soka, I think you should turn this case down and let the regular team cover it."

Hisoka crossed his arms over his chest and frowned at the floor for a long moment before looking up. "And if I don't?"

Tsuzuki sighed in frustration. "Hisoka, I really think it's a bad idea…"

Hisoka bitter laugh interrupted him. "Actually, I think it's a bad idea too, but there are things in that house… My family; I have to go, I have to make sure it's over!"

Tsuzuki slumped slightly and nodded. "Okay, if you're sure…" He looked up at Hisoka hopefully, but Hisoka's eyes were steady. "I'll go grab the file and meet you back at our office."

"Fine." Hisoka turned and headed briskly down the hallway.

**~XXX~**

Tatsumi and Watari exchanged a hopeful glance as Tsuzuki led his temperamental partner out into the hall.

Tatsumi leaned close to Watari. "Perhaps our earlier concerns were for nothing, Tsuzuki may be able to defuse the situation for us."

Watari looked thoughtful for a moment. "I still think you should have let me feed him something from the lab."

Tatsumi sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose between his thumb and forefinger. "Would you please refrain from experimenting on your co-workers?"

"Would you prefer I experiment on my superiors?"

Tatsumi blanched. "Heaven forbid!"

They both looked up at the sound of the door opening and watched Tsuzuki walk up to the table, he didn't look happy.

"Well?" Tatsumi asked.

"We'll take the case." Tsuzuki stated in a neutral voice and reached for the folder.

Tatsumi and Watari exchanged another look before looking back to Tsuzuki.

"Very well," Tatsumi reached into his jacket and pulled out an envelope which he handed to Tsuzuki. "These are the photos that were removed from the file. I suggest you don't show them to Kurosaki-kun unless there is a dire need. Everything else is in the file. Should you need back-up, contact Watari or myself immediately."

Tsuzuki nodded, tucking the envelope away in a pocket and took the folder.

"I don't like this…" Watari said softly as Tsuzuki left the room.

**~XXX~**

Hisoka stepped into the office he shared with Tsuzuki and closed the door. He leaned against it, his head in his hands and drew a long shuttering breath.

He didn't want to go back to Kamakura, back to that house where he'd been raised. Back to the place where he'd been ostracized and hated, to the beginning of his end. Tsuzuki was right, it was a bad idea. But all the same, there was no way he could let anyone else go. He didn't want to let anyone else know about how he'd been raised, about his family, about the curse…

His family had been cursed generations ago, he knew that; and to know about the curse was to be caught up in it. Bad things happened to the Kurosaki's and everyone around them.

Hisoka pushed away from the door and moved to his desk, he could feel Tsuzuki approaching and wished there was some way to keep the violet-eyed man from getting involved in his mess.

Tsuzuki walked in and crossed the room to stand in front of him. He could see and feel the concern radiating from his partner.

"Are you ready for this?"

Hisoka swallowed hard at Tsuzuki's question. "Before we go, there are… there are some things I need to tell you about…" It was harder than he thought, he really didn't want to do this. "…about my family."

**~XXX~**

Tsuzuki followed Hisoka quietly through the cherry trees surrounding the Ju on Cho. It was rare to see Hisoka's mask of stoicism so completely gone, but now his partner was practically radiating agitation.

Hisoka's distress caused an answering echo in Tsuzuki. If he could have gotten away with it, he would have pulled the younger man into his arms and held him until he was calm, but Tsuzuki knew that his irascible partner would not likely accept the comfort. It was a minor miracle that Hisoka had admitted a need for company the night before.

Finally Hisoka stopped walking and turned to face him. "When I was young," he began, and then looked away, his hair falling over his eyes as he lowered his head. "Sorry, this is a little hard, I was raised not to talk about the family." He gave a short, brittle laugh. "Or to the family for that matter."

"Just tell me what you can." Tsuzuki told him softly, trying to sound reassuring. "However you can."

"When I was really young," Hisoka began again. He ran a hand through his hair, and then began to pace back and forth in front of Tsuzuki. "My father told me of how our ancestor, Kurosaki Ren, defeated the Snake God, Yatonogami When he did this, he saved the village from destruction, disease, and famine, but Yatonogami's wrath was turned on him and he cursed our family."

"Your family was cursed?" Tsuzuki asked. "How?"

"My father never said, but I used to hear to the maids talking in the hallways. They'd talk about how all the Kurosakis were doomed to die young. How the Kurosakis often died violent and horrible deaths, like my father's first wife."

"His first wife?"

"She was my mother's twin sister. I heard that she committed suicide after her baby… died."

Tsuzuki heard Hisoka's slight hesitation before the last word. "How did the baby die?"

"There was a rumour that my uncle killed her. I never found out if it was true or not, but the things that happened in that house…"

"That might not have anything to do with a curse though…"

Hisoka shook his head. "The curse is real. There are things in that house, on the grounds, the pond, my father's room, the dojo… You can _feel_ it."

Tsuzuki clenched his fists. His family had been cursed, he had been cursed, had anything in his little partners life ever gone right?

"Yes," Hisoka said softly, not looking back. "I died."


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3**

He was shown to a delicate class topped table on a sun-dappled patio. He smiled amiably at the flustered waitress and asked for a paper and coffee. The waitress returned a few minutes later with the paper and the requested beverage, which she placed before him before taking his order for a light lunch.

Muraki Kazutaka spread the paper open and pursued it while he sipped his coffee. He skimmed over the political and financial pages that he had read earlier in the day. Sports and lifestyles held little interest for him, and the world news was only slightly more interesting. He paged through the classifieds and singles seeking singles, but it was in the obituaries that a name jumped out at him.

Kurosaki.

Muraki stopped paging and leaned forward to read the piece, suddenly very interested. The small article held almost no information, but for a date of death and a request for mourners to donate to a local charity in lieu of sending flowers.

Muraki folded the paper and set it aside, frowning thoughtfully. After a moment he pulled out his cell and punched in a number.

"Anna? I need you to call Takenaka-san and see if he can come in this afternoon. After that, call and cancel the rest of tomorrows appointments."

Receiving his secretary's confirmation, Muraki closed the phone and put it away. He stood, looking around half-expectantly, and then left the small café-style restaurant at a brisk pace, his coffee and lunch forgotten.

**~XXX~**

"We're staying here?" Hisoka asked incredulously, staring at the ornate gate surrounding his family home. Although he knew that they would have to visit the Kurosaki estate, he hadn't considered the possibility that they would actually be staying there!

"Well, we're here to investigate a haunting," Tsuzuki shrugged, "and this is the pace that is haunted…"

"And what are we going to tell anyone who sees me? I'm dead, remember?!"

"You're the illegitimate son, come to claim your birthright."

Hisoka blanched at the thought. Family honour, protect the Kurosaki name, these things had been drilled into him since birth, and the thought of allowing, even encouraging such slander didn't sit well with him. Squaring his shoulders, Hisoka pushed the gate open and headed towards the house, Tsuzuki trailing behind him.

Reaching the door, Hisoka tried the knob, unsurprised to find it locked. He turned to see Tsuzuki looking around, a small confused frown turning down his lips. "What is it?"

"I expected…" Tsuzuki gestured around, "I dunno, crime scene tape, police, something! I mean, your parent only died two days ago, shouldn't someone be investigating?"

"Aside from us?" Hisoka harrumphed. "No one in this area would dare investigate my family. We own the police, the papers, we even own the mayor. Who is there to call for an investigation? If you check their death certificates, they'll probably list 'natural death' as the cause of death."

"But…that's not right!"

"Maybe not, but that's the way it is." Hisoka knelt down and lifted a fake stone in the pathway, pulling out a key. "Key hide." he said in response to Tsuzuki's surprised expression. He unlocked the door and pushed it open.

The mat inside the door was stained a dark reddish brown. Although there had obviously been some half-hearted attempt to clean it up, it was immediately obvious what the discolouration was. Hisoka jumped over the stained mat, and Tsuzuki followed him with one long stride, closing the door behind them. The back of the door was splashed with the same discolouration, and Tsuzuki hastily withdrew his hand.

"Probably one of the staff," Hisoka said, his expression closed, "trying to run from the house."

Tsuzuki's expression wasn't close, he looked horrified. "What could have done that?"

"That's what we're here to find out."

**~XXX~**

A search of the house yielded few results. Neither Hisoka nor Tsuzuki were eager to enter Kurosaki Nagre's room. In the end, Hisoka stood at the door as Tsuzuki gave the room a quick once over. He hurried out of the room feeling as if every hair on his body was standing on end. The room had a dark, menacing atmosphere, that was not helped at all by the dried blood stains that liberally covered the room; wall, floor and ceiling.

Rui's room was worse.

Hisoka let out a surprised exclamation as he read the details of her death en route to the dark, cell-like room. "Fetal matter? My mother was pregnant?"

Once again it was obvious that someone had made some effort to clean in Rui's room, it was also apparent that whomever had made that effort had give up with this room fairly quickly. There were flies buzzing around still glistening wet patches, clumps of raw looking, unidentifiable matter; and the smell…

Hisoka stood transfixed, his face twisted in a mixture of disgust, horror and pain before Tsuzuki pulled the door tightly shut and pulled his partner forcibly away.

There was evidence of another death in the kitchen; a cook, Tsuzuki summarized, glancing through the file that he had practically pried out of Hisoka's hands. A gardener had also perished on the grounds, and Tsuzuki and Hisoka made a slow circuit around the outside of the house; the dojo, a storage shed, servants quarters, the gardens… And finally a large sakura tree on a gently rolling hill, at with point Hisoka turned abruptly and returned to the house.

**~XXX~**

"Are you alright?"

Hisoka fought the urge to bang his head against a wall. "Tsuzuki, if you ask me that one more time, I am going to deck you!"

Tsuzuki felt his tension ease just a bit. At least he was getting a verbal response. The first few times he'd asked the question he had been answered by blank looks and glares. If he had to annoy the crap out of his little partner to get him talking, he could deal with that. Hisoka didn't seem to be taking the tour of the house well; the youth was ashen, green eyes haunted. It was, Tsuzuki decided, a good time to get out of the place.

"Hey, let's head into the town. We can grab some dinner and listen to the local gossip." 'And maybe find a motel to spend the night at,' Tsuzuki thought, 'rather than come back to this place.'

Hisoka considered for a moment. He really didn't want to go into town and listen to the townspeople trading rumours and innuendos, nor did he particularly want to experience their reactions when he came strolling along. Still, the thought of spending one more minute in this house than he absolutely had to made the town seem like the lesser of evils; he nodded.

Tsuzuki leapt to his feet and immediately began pulling Hisoka to his. "C'mon, let's go! There's no time like the present!" the sudden paragon of promptness declared.

Reluctantly, Hisoka allowed himself to be dragged back to the stained front door, where Tsuzuki paused as if wondering how to open the offending portal without touching it. Before Tsuzuki had found a solution to his dilemma, both partners heard voices approaching from outside.

"Oh, Hell!" Hisoka muttered and took a step back from the door. "Uncle…"

The door swung open and a tall, rather overweight man with black hair and beard stepped into the entry. He was looking behind at a tiny man carrying a microphone, who was followed by a large muscular brute bringing up the rear.

"…of my dear brother Nagre, and of course, as the new head of the Kurosaki, I will…" he trailed off as he turned and caught sight of Tsuzuki. "Who are you? What are you doing here? Toma!" He gestured at the muscular brute. "Get rid of…" The man gasped as he finally noticed the smaller figure who had moved back into the shadows. "H-Hisoka-sama!"

Tsuzuki began shaking his head. "No, you must be mistaken, he's…" But the denial was interrupted when the door slammed shut. The temperature dropped suddenly and the shinigami felt every hair on their bodies stand on end.

Tsuzuki pulled a fuda from his coat, on guard against what he could sense, but not see.

"Iwao-sama?" The little man with the microphone tapped the bigger, bearded man on the shoulder in an attempt to regain his attention. "What's goi9ng on here? If this is some sort of publicity stunt…" before the man could go any further, a gale force wind blew around them, and Iwao was picked up and thrown across the room and into a wall.

The wind died abruptly, and Iwao struggled to his feet, glaring daggers at Hisoka. "What are you doing boy?"

Hisoka glared back. "I didn't do anything. I never did anything!"

Iwao growled. "I'll send you back to Hell where your belong!" He lunged towards Hisoka.

Tsuzuki moved to place himself in front of his partner, but before he had taken the necessary step, Iwao was yanked backwards by an unseen force. Held in midair, legs flailing, Iwao started to scream curses at his nephew.

The brute pushed forward, reaching up to help the suspended man, but was pushed back, stumbling. As everyone stared in horror, Iwao's body twisted, like a dishrag being wrung out, his cries cutting off with a gurgle, and his body dropped dead to the floor.

A fine mist of blood had sprayed all of them when Iwao's body had preformed the impossible contortion, and the big muscular man brought his hands up, staring at the fine red drops coating them. He let out a strange high pitched whine and turned to the door, pulling almost frantically at the knob.

The knob would not move and the man's biceps bulged as he strained with the effort. For a long moment he struggled with the brass piece, then he was thrown away from the door with enough force to send him through the opposite wall, where he lay in a crumpled heap.

Hisoka jumped away from Tsuzuki, grabbed the smaller man's sleeve and dragged him back towards the taller man.

"Hurry!" Tsuzuki hissed.

"What's going on here!?" the man asked as Tsuzuki activated a barrier fuda.

"As soon as we have any idea, we'll let you know, but stay here for now!" Hisoka let go of the man's sleeve and looked around apprehensively.

There was a knocking sound that seemed to come from inside the walls around them; then, with a loud 'thump', something hard and invisible struck the barrier. The iridescent shield wavered, but held.

A second 'thump' made Tsuzuki wince and stumble slightly. Hisoka reached out and placed his hand on Tsuzuki's arm offering whatever support he could. The small man threw away his microphone and grabbed onto Tsuzuki's other arm as a third 'thump' caused fine cracks to appear in their protective dome.

And it was over. Tsuzuki held the barrier in place for another twenty minutes, but there was nothing more out of the ordinary.

Cautiously, he let the barrier drop, prepared to resurrect it at the smallest sign.

Hisoka stepped away, towards the door, and Tsuzuki watched with trepidation as Hisoka reached out and tested the knob.

Locked.

Hisoka tried with more force, but the door remained firmly shut.

With a sigh of resignation, Hisoka turned back to his partner and the tiny man still clinging to his arm. "We're stuck here."

"There have got to be other ways out of the house!" Tsuzuki pointed out.

"Of course there are, but do you honestly think we'll be able to get out? This door is locked, and the lock won't release, I doubt we'll have much luck anywhere else. It seems to me that something is determined to keep us here, and I'd rather not provoke it into attacking again right away. Why don't we pick a spot where we can fortify ourselves, get some rest, and try again in the morning?"

Tsuzuki considered for a moment and nodded. "Okay, that make sense to me. Any ideas where to set up camp?"

Hisoka shrugged and headed down one of the corridors.

Tsuzuki started to head after him when he realized his arm was still being held in a fierce, almost painful grip.

The small man would have been pale if not for the ghastly red tinge from the bloody spray that coloured each of them. "You should come with us, Mr…"

"Umo," the man said in a hoarse voice. "Umo Nataki."

"Right," Tsuzuki gently pried his arm free of the man's death grip. "Come with us, we'll get cleaned up and figure out what to do next."

The man nodded absently. "Cleaned up… yeah…" He began rubbing his hand against his clothing as if trying to wipe them off.

Tsuzuki resisted the urge to do the same. He didn't want to feel the tackiness of drying blood against his skin. His skin itched, and suddenly he wanted a shower more than anything in the world. "C'mon Mr. Umo," he said, turning quickly to follow after Hisoka. He carefully avoided looking at the two bodies as he hurried away from the entryway.

Following the sound of running water, Tsuzuki and his tag-a-long followed the corridor around two bends, in time to see Hisoka stepping out of a doorway, steam billowing behind him. Tsuzuki hurried up to him, gratified to see a traditional bathing room behind the door. A large wooden tub waiting inside full to the brim with steaming water.

"How did you get that filled so fast?" Tsuzuki asked, peeking past Hisoka into the room.

"My family may have been traditional, but we still have plumbing." Hisoka moved out of the way. "Get cleaned up, and we can talk in my room. It's across the hall."

"Are you shy?" Tsuzuki asked the small man behind him.

Umo Nataki slowly shook his head.

"Good." Tsuzuki grabbed him by the arm and dragged him into the steamy haze of the bathing room.


	4. Chapter 4

A/N: The physical description Yatonogami is based on a theory presented by Trans in her fic 'The Sun Will Rise'. If you have not read it, you should. Right now. Then read her sequel. Then review and tell her she should update, 'cause they are awesome fics. Then come back…

**Chapter 4**

Washed and changed, two shinigami and one mortal gathered in Hisoka's childhood bedroom. Umo Nataki, as it turned out was small enough in stature to fit comfortably into one of Hisoka's yukatas.

Tsuzuki watched as Hisoka set up a futon against one wall of the sizeable, but rather bare room, while Nataki set up a second against the opposite wall.

"Only two?" Tsuzuki questioned, looking around for a third futon.

"With what's going on around here? It's probably better to sleep in shifts, so that somebody's awake to give the alarm… just in case." Hisoka turned away to pull some sheets out of a closet, passing one to Nataki.

Tsuzuki wandered around the room. Truthfully it wasn't much to look at, a small dresser stood against the wall by the closet door, a window, and that was about it. "Wasn't this your room?" he asked his partner. "When you were a kid, right? Didn't you have any toys?"

Hisoka gave him a dour look. "No."

Nataki finished with his futon first and took a seat on the floor leaning against it. He stared hard at Hisoka. "Are you really Kurosaki Hisoka-sama?"

Hisoka gave him a dour look too. "No."

"Then who are you?"

"His name is Kurosaki Yutaka." Tsuzuki answered, trying hard to ignore the angry glare suddenly directed towards him. "Kurosaki Nagre is his father, but his mother lives in Tokyo."

"I see," Nataki said. "I always thought there was more to the Kurosaki than they allowed people to see."

"So, what about you Nataki-san?" Tsuzuki asked the smaller man. "Why are you here?"

"I'm a reporter…" Nataki began.

Tsuzuki resisted the urge to try and crawl under one of the futons as the glare on him turned murderous.

"The local paper received a message that the new head of the Kurosaki family was going to reopen the main house, and a reporter was requested to cover the event. I had heard that there were strange things going on at the house since the deaths of Nagre and Rui-sama, so I volunteered for the assignment."

Hisoka stopped glaring at Tsuzuki and turned to Nataki. "The new head of the Kurosaki family?" he asked, sounding strangled.

"Yes," the reporter prattled blithely. "So I met with Kurosaki Iwao-san, and his bodyguard…"

"Him? Head?" Hisoka looked like he was choking on that line of thought.

"Of course, and we came to the main house and, well, you saw what happened."

Hisoka snorted, still focused on the idea of his uncle being head of the family. "Presumptuous ass!" he muttered.

"'Soka!" Tsuzuki said, reproachfully.

Nataki gave him an odd look. "I thought you said his name was Yutaka?"

"That's what I meant," Tsuzuki qualified.

Hisoka shot Tsuzuki a dirty look. "Perhaps we should try to get some sleep, I'll take the first watch."

**~XXX~**

Tsuzuki watched out of the room's sole window as the sky started to pale against the horizon. He yawned and stretched, checking his watch as he brought his arms down. It was nearly 6 o clock. Hisoka had awakened him at 3 to take his turn standing guard, with stern instructions to wake everybody at 6. Tsuzuki had no intention of following that particular order. He knew that Hisoka had covered two shifts, unwilling to have the reporter stand guard; with no spiritual powers, the man would have no way to sense anything coming. But even Hisoka needed more than 3 hours sleep in a night, and Tsuzuki planned to let his partner sleep as long as he could get away with it.

He turned from the window, his gaze sweeping over the room. Nataki lay sprawled across his futon, snoring lightly; Hisoka, curled up across the room, looking tense even in his sleep. Tsuzuki frowned and moved closer to Hisoka, he really did look tense, like every muscle in his body had gone rigid. Crouching down by Hisoka's head, he studied the sleeping face intently. Far from the peaceful tranquillity of a restful sleep, fine features were marred by lines of stress and a frown. Stirring, Hisoka flicked his hand by his face, as if he could feel the force of Tsuzuki's gaze and wanted to brush it away. Concerned, Tsuzuki reached out to shake Hisoka's shoulder.

"Hisoka?"

**~XXX~**

"Look at me, Hisoka."

Hisoka blinked his eyes open. He was sitting cross-legged on his futon, but he couldn't see anything. Even as he watched, the inky darkness receded and he realized another figure sat on his bed across from him. As the room became lighter, Hisoka could see that the figure was a young man, maybe a few years older than his apparent age. Long blonde hair spilled over a narrow shoulder and rippled around the slight, lithe form.

"Who are you?" Hisoka asked.

The young man regarded him seriously for a moment. "My name is Yatonogami."

Hisoka regarded the stranger closely. "I know you…"

"I am the demon that cursed your family."

"Why?" Hisoka scrambled back, putting more space between him and the demon. "Why did you do that?"

The young man smiled warmly at him. "I wanted to be human."

Hisoka frowned. The young man looked very much like him; his eyes were a paler shade of green, and his hair a lighter shade of blonde, but otherwise the resemblance was remarkable.

"Your ancestor, Kurosaki Ren defeated me in battle. He bound me with a geis to your family. I allowed it."

"You allowed it? Why?"

"Because I wanted to be human. It's almost impossible for a demon to become human, but I found a way."

Hisoka's frown became more pronounced. "But why would you want to be human?"

The demon brushed his long hair back over his shoulder. "Demons do not belong to this realm, nor do our bodies readily adapt to it; therefore, the time we can spend in the human world is greatly limited. Also, in order to enter this world we have to expend a great deal of energy, be summoned, or bound to a person or object. All of this is problematic. If we loose focus or get tired, if something happened to our summoner, or the thing we are bound to, we are forced back to our own plane."

"So you wanted to be human so you could stay here?"

"Yes. There is so much this world has to offer, millions of victims for the taking, so many way to corrupt…" Yatonogami smirked. "…and humans have a wider scope of emotions and sensations. I wanted to experience that too. I wanted it all.

"So I allowed Ren to defeat me and bind me to his bloodline. He was my first host."

"Wait!" Hisoka shook his head. "If you were using us to achieve humanity, why did you kill us so young? Why did the people in my family die such horrible deaths?"

Yatonogami smiled beatifically. "I killed them young to speed the progression. Each generation, each new host I was able to take at a younger age, as each new host carried more of my genetic material. As soon as I was able to claim a new host, I killed the old one and moved down the bloodline. I claimed your father at the age of eighteen, and I should have been able to claim you at sixteen or seventeen, but I was impatient. I made a bargain with a man of immense spiritual power. He was to weaken you so that I could claim you earlier, but instead he killed you, and I was faced with the end of the bloodline before I'd reached my objective."

"You made a deal with Muraki to weaken me? Hisoka fought back a wave of anger. "He raped me!"

"Yes, and it probably would have been sufficient for me to claim you, if you had lived."

"But I did live, for three more years!"

The demon cocked a brow at him. "You were dead from the moment he cursed you, you just didn't know it."

Hisoka closed his eyes to block out the smug smirk on features so similar to his own. "So, you couldn't reach your objective. What was your objective?"

"I had to be born, of course. As each new host was younger, I would have eventually been able to claim one inverto, and I would have been born as that host, fully human." Yatonogami scowled. "I tired. I tired to force such a birth after you died, but it was too soon. The fetus stagnated within your mother's womb.

Hisoka blanched and tasted bile at the back of his throat.

"So I found myself trapped within my last host, facing the end of the bloodline, so I killed them and fought my way free only to find that I was still bound by the geis of Kurosaki Ren." Yatonogami leaned forward, leaning his chin on his fist as he regarded Hisoka intently. "Ren bound me as long as the Kurosaki exist; and unfortunately for me, though your are no longer alive, you still exist.

The demon crawled forward across the futon, and Hisoka leaned back as he got close. Still bearing the appearance of a young man, Yatonogami loomed over him, his hair falling down to enclose them both in a silken cave. Green eyes stared deep into green eyes.

"So as I see it, I now have two options. I can destroy you and try to start over, or I can use you to try to continue the bloodline." Yatonogami reached out to run one delicate hand along Hisoka's cheek. "As a shinigami, you are now eminently suitable as a host."

"Don't touch me!" Hisoka growled and slapped Yatonogami hand away from his face.

The demon smirked, green eyes bright, and reached out again…

**~XXX~**

"DON'T TOUCH ME!"

The psychic blast that accompanied the words threw Tsuzuki half way across the room.

"What's happening?" Nataki sat up in his bed, awakened by the crash of Tsuzuki's landing.

Tsuzuki pulled himself painfully into a sitting position and looked over at Hisoka. The blond was sitting up as well, blinking and looking slightly dazed, then his eyes settled on Tsuzuki on the floor. Green eyes darkened with worry, Hisoka climbed out of his futon, and stumbled over to Tsuzuki.

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to…"

"It's okay," Tsuzuki cut him off. "I'm fine, what was that?"

"There's a demon here," Hisoka told him, dropping to the floor beside the older man. "It's possessed my family for generations, it possessed my father, and now it wants to possess me, or make me not exist. One or the other."

"Okay," Tsuzuki said calmly, and then jumped to his feet and grabbed Hisoka's arm, pulling him up as well. "We're leaving! Nataki, grab your stuff, we're going right now!"


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter 5**

Umo Nataki followed the tall brunette and the shorter blonde through the hallways of the house. What had happened to Kurosaki Iwo and his brute of a body guard scared the crap out of him, but that fear was not enough to squelch his excitement. He had walked into the story of a lifetime! He had thought he had had the goods on Iwo… But now…

Kurosaki Hisoka returns from the dead after four years…

Where had the boy been? What was being covered up? And who was this man who watched over him so protectively?

Nataki patted his pocket and felt the lump made by his mini voice recorder. With the right spin on it, this story could make his career!

**~XXX~**

Crimson streaks spread across the sky as the sun rose over the horizon. The brilliant colour reflected off the pristine white suit of the man who stood before the gate of the Kurosaki estate.

Muraki stood like a statue, his demeanour cool and collected as usual as he watched the house, but inside he was less composed. He knew that eventually he would have to go up to the house and find out what had happened to the creature that had been bound there, yet he hesitated. He had taken what precautions he could, but the demon was dangerous. Yatonogami had been powerful enough to be called a god; and if the snake god was now free, Muraki was sure it would soon be seeking him out. Double-crossing a demon had a price, Muraki's lips twitched upwards as he considered his own audacity; and of course, some rewards were worth it.

A movement attracted his notice, and he saw the door of the house swinging open. Muraki quickly moved back a step, out of immediate sight and watched as Tsuzuki came out of the house, dragging Hisoka in his wake. Muraki cursed softly to himself even as a third person emerged following the pair.

**~XXX~**

Tsuzuki had both his and Hisoka's duffle bags over one shoulder, he gripped them with one hand, the other firmly wrapped around Hisoka's wrist.

"Damnit Tsuzuki! I can walk by myself!" Hisoka growled at him, trying to pull his wrist free.

Tsuzuki ignored him. He had allowed them a few minutes to pull on their clothes, and as far as he was concerned that was a few minutes too long, he wanted out of the house… He wanted _Hisoka _out of the house. Preferably the day before yesterday.

He didn't pause for a moment to consider the mess in the entryway, but sped straight for the door and yanked it open. It resisted for a moment, then swung wide easily. He pulled Hisoka outside behind him and felt an immediate rush of relief. They were out. They could get away from there. It was going to be alright.

He let Hisoka pull his wrist free as they headed for the gate, looking back over his shoulder to make sure his partner and the reporter were still following him.

Tsuzuki stopped dead just inside the gate a new figure stepped into the early morning light.

"Muraki!" he gasped in shock.

"You sound so pleased to see me," Muraki said dryly, "as always."

Tsuzuki glanced back at his partner. Hisoka had frozen a little behind him, his face strained. Tsuzuki frowned and turned back to the doctor. "What are you doing here?"

"I read about the deaths of the Kurosakis, and I came to see why I'm still alive," Muraki informed him bluntly, his eyes drifting to Hisoka. "I believe I now understand. Bouya, come here."

Tsuzuki looked hastily back, but Hisoka made no sign that he had even heard Muraki's command. He was still standing frozen in place, eyes vacant, fine tremors wracking his frame. "Hisoka?" Tsuzuki asked worriedly.

Hisoka's arm twitched as if he wanted to reach out, then he took a step back and shook his head. "Damnit," he muttered and turned back towards the house.

Tsuzuki caught up to him in three long strides. "Hisoka, wait!" he pleaded.

"Stop Bouya." Muraki demanded at the same time.

Hisoka whirled and glared at the doctor as he stepped through the gate onto the estate.

A wind blew up from behind Hisoka with enough force to make him stagger. Tsuzuki steadied him and they watched as debris and dust flew into the air as the unnatural wind sped at Muraki and surrounded him. The wind whirled around the man with a high pitched shrieking, picking at his clothes and hair.

A stone rose form the ground and flew at him, stopping only inches from his face before falling to the ground. Another stone followed, and another. A barrage of rocks attempted, but failed, to strike the doctor, who stood calmly in the centre of the gale force tempest.

Tsuzuki, Hisoka and Nataki watched for a long while, until finally the wind began to peter out. When the last bit of dust had settled back to the ground, Muraki stepped forward briskly to where Hisoka stood at Tsuzuki's side. Muraki reached out and took Hisoka's chin in his hand to raise his and look deep into his eyes. Hisoka tried to flinch back, but Muraki held him firmly. Then the doctor nodded to himself and released Hisoka's chin.

"What was that?" Hisoka hissed.

"You're not possessed," Muraki stated calmly.

"I could have told you that," Hisoka informed him snidely.

Tsuzuki put an arm around the teen and pulled him closer to himself.

"You could have lied," Muraki countered, "I had to know the truth."

"He's not possessed," Tsuzuki reiterated.

"So there, asshole."

"Hisoka, don't aggravate the nice psychopath."

"Sorry."

Muraki scowled at the pair of them, then focused on Hisoka. "If I didn't need you alive…"

"I'm dead, in case you've forgotten… dumbass."

"Hisoka!"

"Well he is!"

"Fine. If I didn't require you to exist in some way, shape or form, I would quite happily wipe you out of existence entirely!"

"You and what army?"

"Hisoka!"

"Excuse me," Nataki interrupted, "but weren't we leaving?"

"Yes," Tsuzuki said, seizing Hisoka's hand. "Right now." He made to turn back to the gate, but Hisoka pulled his hand free and took a step back.

"I can't."

Muraki regarded the youth suspiciously. "Why can't you?"

"I just can't," Hisoka snarled, and then stomped his way back to the house, cursing under his breath the whole way.

Tsuzuki glanced at each of the two men staring after his partner. Muraki looked irritated and resigned, Nataki looked confused. Bewildered, Tsuzuki brushed past them and hurried after Hisoka, bewildered and worried.

"Wait."

Tsuzuki felt Muraki catch his arm and drop something into his pocket before he could pull free. He reached into his pocket and felt something cold and smooth. His fingers tingled from the wards contained in it. He gave Muraki a questioning look.

"A little extra protection is called for in this situation," the doctor stated calmly, "you never know when a demon might try to throw a few rocks at your head."

Tsuzuki resisted the urge to roll his eyes like Hisoka would have and went into the house.

Muraki moved to follow, but noticed the little man who had exited with the shinigami was directly behind him. He paused long enough to give the man a curt "stay here," before following Tsuzuki inside.


End file.
